I’m back into retirement. I’ve left the role of Executive Officer of the Western Port Biosphere Foundation, one of Australia’s four active UNESCO Biospheres. I loved the job and the great projects about to start, all looking at how we meet human needs without buggering the environment on which we and all other species depend.
But there’re are many many other things to do while one is fit and able to do them. Hey, I’m on 662 bird species (1 June 2021) on my Life List so I’ve another hundred or so to go. There’re are many long walks in fine parts of the country too and these things take time, so I’ve passed the baton and left the office.
My previous go at retirement was after a fixed-term role with Sustainability Victoria establishing community energy projects in Gippsland.
Before then, I’d retired after10 years at the helm of the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance where we conducted projects in both mitigation and adaptation on behalf of our region of councils.
Prior to that, I worked in education, public policy and programs and in environmental activism.
I was a Board Member of the John Cain Foundation, a progressive policy-influencing think-tank following the precepts of one of Victoria’s great Premiers John Cain. The JCF is now part of Per Capita and holds luncheon meetings on the third Wednesday of each month – check the program at percapita.org.au
I was a member of a Ministerial Advisory Committee, the Central Coastal Board, and of Regional Development Australia’s Southern Melbourne Committee, one of 55 committees across the nation that develops the evidence base for and makes recommendations about regional development to state and federal governments. I also stepped down as a Trustee of the Caroline Chisholm Education Foundation, providing scholarships to students such that education can offer more broadly the life-transforming opportunities of learning to students who otherwise couldn’t afford further education at Chisholm TAFE.
I am conducting bird walks and talks around Melbourne, reviewing and evaluating interpretation programs for ecotourism agencies, I am presenting addresses to schools on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to Probus groups on the environmental policies that we need, on how we can respond to climate change and I’m running quiz nights for community social groups.
Curriculum Vitæ
If there’s something on which we could collaborate, please contact me via this website for a copy of my Curriculum Vitae and we can see if our interests align.
